1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polymerization method carried out in a three-phase emulsion system, i.e. a water/oil/water (w/o/w) system, or an oil/water/oil (o/w/o) system, where the polymerization is carried out in the innermost phase of the system.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Emulsion polymerization techniques, both regular oil/water polymerization and inverse water/oil polymerization, are well known. See, for example, Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Technology, Vol. 5, pp. 801-859 (1966).
Three-phase emulsion systems are also known. See, for example, Matsumoto et al, J. Colloid Interf. Sci., 57(2), 353-361 (1976) and Li et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,907. Both describe three-phase emulsions.
However, nothing in the prior art teaches or suggests the novel polymerizaton method of the present invention which utilizes a three-phase emulsion system.